Neuroscientists say that the brains of autistic children generate significantly more information in a resting state, a discovery that helps explain the most typical characteristic of autism – withdrawal into one’s own inner world. The researchers, from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Toronto, have published their intriguing findings in the journal Frontiers […]
A study in the journal Biological Psychiatryreveals for the first time how the illicit drug ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA)) produces feelings of euphoria in users. The researchers, from Imperial College London, say their findings hint at ways that ecstasy might be used in the treatment of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). MDMA has previously been […]
Ultrasound is widely used in medicine to reveal what’s happening inside the body, but scientists at Virginia Tech have found that ultrasound can also modulate brain activity to heighten sensory perception in humans. Researcher William Tyler (pictured) said his team’s work provides the first proof that low-intensity, transcranial-focused ultrasound can modulate human brain activity to […]
The scientists behind a novel study into reading say that when we immerse ourselves into a work of fiction, lingering changes occur in the connectivity of our brains. The intriguing new findings, by researchers at Emory University, have been published in the journal Brain Connectivity. “Stories shape our lives and in some cases help define […]
The people who carry the high-risk SORL1 gene for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease show changes in their brains beginning in early childhood, according to researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). SORL1 is one of a number of genes linked to an increased risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It carries the gene code […]
A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesappears to confirm a theory that the evolution of sharp vision in our ancestors was in part driven by the threat of snakes. Lynne Isbell, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis, originally put forward the theory in her […]
In work that could change the way we think about how neural circuitry functions in the brain, scientists have shown that dendrites, long thought to be passive wiring in the brain, actually process information. “Suddenly, it’s as if the processing power of the brain is much greater than we had originally thought,” said study author […]
A protein produced during endurance exercise has been isolated and given to non-exercising mice, where it switched on genes that promote brain health and encouraged the growth of new nerves and synapses involved in learning and memory. The breakthrough was reported by scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School and is detailed in […]
A new analysis technique that compared Albert Einstein’s brain to others of the period shows the left and right cerebral hemispheres of the famous scientist’s brain were unusually well connected to each other. This connectivity may have contributed to his brilliance, according to Florida State University evolutionary anthropologist Dean Falk. Falk was part of a […]
The idea that researchers can unravel different brain functions by performing MRI scans while subjects perform tasks is deeply flawed, say Case Western Reserve University scientists in a scathing critique of recent high profile studies that rely on neuroimaging. The new work calls into question the findings from recent diverse experiments that have linked different […]
